Seven Wonders of the World
There were a number of lists compiled by the ancient Greeks which documented the Seven Wonders of the World. The two most prominent of these were by Antipater of Sidon and Philon of Byzantium. The majority of the lists agreed on six of the seven wonders, with the Walls of Babylon or the Palace of Cyrus (the King of Persia) being included as the seventh. It was not until around the 6th Century AD that The Lighthouse of Alexandria became the accepted seventh wonder.
Given that the lists were compiled by the Greeks it is perhaps not surprising that many of the Wonders have Greek origins or connections with Greek culture. Had the Greeks been aware of such marvellous construction projects as The Great Wall of China, Stonehenge or the city of Machu Picchu in Peru (created by the Inca civilization) it would be interesting to see if they would have included them on their list.
Below are the seven commonly accepted Wonders of the World. Click on the links for more detailed descriptions and pictures.
For more information please visit http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/ |
